Orlando, Florida — I want to thank you for inviting me to be here today. It is a real privilege to talk with you about No Child Left Behind and your important role in closing the academic achievement gap plaguing our nation.

Before I continue, I want to take a moment to discuss a comment I made in conversation with governors earlier this week that was reported in the press. I want to apologize to you and the teachers in your schools for my poor choice of words.

In this post-9-11 world, the word I used obviously has a grave and sad meaning. I wish I had used different words to express my point, and for the insensitive choice of words, I express my deepest regrets.

Second, I especially want to be clear on one point. As ill-considered as my words were, my disappointment was directed only-and I mean only-at the union heads in Washington.

Every time I get an opportunity, I repeat my view that teachers are the real soldiers of democracy, and deserve our respect and our support. And, by the way, No Child Left Behind provides more federal financial support for teachers than any other K-12 legislation in our nation's history.

Every morning when I look into the mirror, I'm reminded that the one reason that I am where I am today is because of teachers. Two teachers-my parents-brought me into this world. My three sisters are teachers.

Outside the home, I was greatly influenced by the teachers who taught me in grade school, high school and college. And finally, it is because of teachers that I grew up believing that a vast horizon of opportunity awaited me beyond my little segregated town in rural Mississippi.

This nation is blessed to have the world's hardest working teachers-the statistics bear that out: America's teachers work longer hours than any other teachers in the developed world, according to the Organization for Economic and Cultural Development.

Third, I recognize that teachers deserve responsible representation-they need an organization that looks out for their best interests, financial and otherwise.

There are many examples of responsible union participation in effective school reform. I especially respect the "reading leadership" of the AFT. I believe Albert Shanker as a union leader made many positive contributions to school improvement.

But finally, even as we are at war for our safety, we are likewise at war for our children's future and our nation's future.

And I believe those who use fear, distortions, misinformation and disruptive tactics to derail the bipartisan reforms of NCLB-while at the same time offering no new alternatives-are harming our children. They are fighting to freeze school operations in their present condition.

I feel passionately that the status quo is not good enough. Why? Look at the numbers: only one in six African Americans and one in five Hispanics are proficient in reading by the time they are high school seniors. That is an outrage.

No wonder a recent study claimed a high school diploma has become nothing more than a "certificate of attendance." Millions of children have been given a seat in the school but not an education of the mind.

I believe that those who erode the principal's authority to lead, make effective decisions and improve school operations are harming our children.

My frustration is that the Washington-based union leadership is fighting against any real reform of our education system.

And that's what prompted my comment. But even so, next time I decide to express that view, I'll choose my words more carefully and use a more sensitive term.

Thank you for your patience. Let me also thank you for your efforts. You have one of the most critically important jobs in education-and one of the most demanding. There is nothing easy about being a principal. You must be CEO, coach, and mayor all rolled into one. You have ultimate responsibility for every aspect of your school, from student results to teacher satisfaction. And in meeting these responsibilities, you have to meet the needs of lots of different constituencies.

Assembled inside this hall is one of the most powerful forces in this nation: committed, caring educators. Our country needs your leadership. We are called to a great mission. We have been challenged to do something no nation has ever done before-to provide a quality education for every child. We have been challenged to close the academic achievement gap dividing us into two nations: the hopeful and the hopeless, the fortunate and the forgotten.

The No Child Left Behind Act gives us the mission and the means. But achieving this goal will take much work on behalf of many Americans. From the moment No Child Left Behind was signed into law, your role as principal has been critical to our renewed efforts to improve education for all.

I know you appreciate this leadership challenge. I read with interest the report this organization issued just last week, Breaking Ranks II. I congratulate you for focusing your reform efforts on excellence for every school.

As secondary school principals, you are charged with preparing America's youths for the challenge of work, further education, citizenship and leadership. No Child Left Behind asks you to make sure students are reaching high expectations and graduating in a reasonable time.

I appreciate just how crucial your role is from my time as superintendent of the Houston Independent School District. One of the most effective reforms we made was to make principals the focus of our school improvement efforts. I believed then, as I do today, that the quality of a principal determines the quality of a school.

For this reason, when I was superintendent, I insisted on interviewing all final candidates for principal positions in the district. I wanted to hear all the candidates' thoughts on how they would lead. It was important to me to have a say in which people would be responsible for our schools.

We also gave principals extra training. Prior to my time in HISD, principals had been handed the keys to the school, given a pat on the back, and then wished good luck. We recognized that such a demanding role required intensive preparation. We wanted our principals to learn the same management skills that MBA programs teach. The management program we established taught principals about budgeting, goal-setting, progress measurement, organizational behavior and community relations. It was comprehensive and rigorous.

After giving our principals this attention and training, we took what I still think was our most important step: we put our faith in them. We decentralized the system, so principals had the freedom to do what worked best for their students and teachers. The percentage of school dollars controlled by the principal went from 5 percent in 1994 to 66 percent in 2001. And, to ensure that students were learning, we measured their results. What we found was no surprise to us: student performance increased at a time when performance in most school systems was dropping.

The role of the principal has been transformed from what it was a generation ago. In this new era, you must be more than administrators. You must be dynamic and decisive leaders. The President has given us a mission-to provide a quality education for all our students, as outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act. I consider that challenge as hard as the one President Kennedy issued 40 years ago to land a man on the moon. But we did land a man on the moon and I know we-and all of you in this audience today-are up to this challenge as well.

We are now two years into the implementation phase of No Child Left Behind. Just last month we celebrated its second anniversary. In this short time, we have started to see a transformation in our education system.

No Child Left Behind is built on four pillars: the use of proven teaching methods; more choice for parents; accountability for results; and increased local control of education. By following these four principles, we are taking meaningful actions to get all our young people to grade level and to close the achievement gap. Let me cite a few reasons why I am so optimistic that we are on the right path:

• All 50 states now have accountability plans in place to show how they will help all students learn to read and do math at their grade level. This is a huge improvement from just a few years ago, when only 11 states had created such plans.

• Our students are now being tested regularly in math and reading, giving teachers, administrators and parents new information to evaluate their progress.

• Low-income parents whose children attend schools that are in need of improvement have new options to help get them more involved in their children's education.

• Under No Child Left Behind, every child in America will soon be taught by a teacher with proven mastery of his or her subject.

• President Bush and Congress have provided more funding for education than ever before. Under the President's latest budget, total education spending will have increased by 36 percent since he took office, including massive increases for Title I, teacher training, special education and college financial aid.

I often say that No Child Left Behind shines a bright light into the shadowy corners of our education system. We do this not to punish anyone. We do so because this exposure allows us to see where we are doing well, and where we must do better. It allows us to use achievement data to help those who most need our help.

No Child Left Behind created the infrastructure to collect information about all of our students' achievement. Now is the time to use it. This data should guide all of us in our decision-making. Where the data shows improvement, we must examine how we achieved those results and then replicate them in more classrooms, schools and districts. Where we are not getting the improvement our students need, we can refocus and reorganize and come back stronger and more prepared to help all our youths learn.

No Child Left Behind puts the power in your hands. Nowhere is that reflected more than in the flexibility built into the law. No Child Left Behind provides more flexibility than ever before to states and local school districts to decide how federal funds are spent.

You should take full advantage of all the flexibility contained in the law. For example, work with your districts and states to take advantage of the $5.1 billion in teacher development funding in the President's budget. Be creative in how you use it-and other federal funding-to meet the goals of No Child Left Behind. Don't just focus on meeting the minimum requirements of No Child Left Behind. Use this opportunity to exceed them. Be creative. This law won't work without your input and your innovation.

The Department is taking additional steps to help you meet the goals of No Child Left Behind. Last October, we announced a new leadership initiative for our high schools called "Preparing America's Future." In that short amount of time, this initiative has made significant progress.

Just two weeks from now, the Department will hold the first of seven regional summits to bring together state leaders, experts and practitioners to develop and share knowledge on what works in our high schools. As part of the initiative, we're streamlining the way the Department of Education provides guidance to high schools. And we're creating a public awareness campaign to facilitate a national dialogue on our high schools. I encourage you to be involved, to lend your ideas, and to work with us to ensure that every student graduates from high school prepared to participate in our economy and our civic life.

I know you share the President's goal of closing the achievement gap. All over America, we've seen schools guided by their principals and teachers rising to meet this challenge. I want you to know that the U.S. Department of Education remains a strong and committed partner. We want to give you every inch of flexibility there is in the law without watering down the law's intent.

So far, the Department has added two new important elements of flexibility to help you achieve your mission. First, we allowed greater flexibility to provide alternate assessments to special needs students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. Second, just last week we announced new flexibility for how schools assess English language learners and how they count these students for adequate yearly progress. We created these policies as we started to get feedback from people like you, those on the ground implementing the law. You communicated with us and we listened.

We will continue to work with you and provide greater flexibility as we go forward. By doing so, we will help you meet both the spirit and the goals of the law. And we will continue to build an education system that meets the needs of all our students.

Later this year, our nation will celebrate one of the pivotal moments in its history-and in the history of its schools. As America celebrates the Brown v. Board of Education decision, we must keep in mind not just what has been accomplished, but what we still have left to do. The Brown decision, which desegregated schools 50 years ago, gave minorities access to schools. But access isn't enough-which is why No Child Left Behind, which promises quality as well, is the next logical step after Brown. Our goal can be nothing less than equal opportunity for every American. And that means that every child in our schools must receive the same high-quality education and be held to the same high standards.

We can remake the education system so that it becomes more successful, inclusive and just. Abraham Lincoln's timeless words still guide us today: "Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history…. The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation…. We—even we here—hold the power, and bear the responsibility… We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of Earth."

No Child Left Behind is not just a law, it's a revolution, a profound moment of change. And when we, together, accomplish the President's noble goal of educating every child—and we will, I have no doubt about it—then we will have saved the last best hope of earth.

Thank you, and God bless you.

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